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On warm August nights in village squares across the peninsula of Apulia known as Salento, traditional music of the region called taranta is enjoying a modern revival. The Notte della Taranta was established in 1998 to promote the traditions and culture of Salento and immediately turned into a successful event drawing hundreds of thousands visitors every year.

The festival is the biggest music festival tribute to pizzica music and to its fusion with world music, rock, jazz and classical music. Pizzica (‘bite’ in Italian) began as a healing ritual for the imaginary bite from a tarantula in the Apulian countryside. People believed that the sweat produced by dancing frantically to this fast-paced music would release the venom from the body. Traditionally, poisoned women would dance incessantly to the frenzied beats of the tambourine, until they were completely freed from the spell.

Bitten by the Apulian bug, some important figures on the Italian and international music scene have taken part in the past years producing unprecedented musical creations. The Symphonic Orchestra of Lecce collaborated with the Taranta Night Orchestra. Stewart Copeland, former drummer from The Police surprisingly joined a traditional taranta folk group; he considers himself an Apulian by adoption and ‘was given the keys to the city’. Jow Zawinul, former musician of the band Weather Report, has also jumped on the taranta bandwagon, and the Israeli singer Noa has incorporated grika, a dialect of Salento with Greek origins, into her own music. Finally, Mauro Pagani, internationally renowned musician and co-founder of Premiata Forneria Marconi, has conducted the final concert in numerous editions.

From 13 to 27 August the festival travels through the villages of Salento – namely Carpignano, Zollino, Calimera, Sternatia, Soleto, Castrignano dei Greci, Coriglianno d’Otranto, Cutrofiano, Martano – to finish with a big finale in Melpignano on 28. Over one-hundred thousand people are expected for the final concert, which this year is conducted by maestro Ludovico Einaudi.

The first part of the Melpignano concert is dedicated to the pure tradition of pizzica and features performances from the most esteemed folk music groups of the region. In the second part, international stars will be on stage under the conduction of Maestro Einaudi. Among these, the most anticipated names are those of Dulce Pontes, Savina Yannatou, are Mercan Dede. The Italian group Sud Sound System whose members originate from these lands will also take part in the finale.

All concerts are held at night at 9.30pm except for the final concert on 28 August starting at 9.30pm. All information about the Notte della Taranta Festival can be found in the official website
www.nottedellataranta.it

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